Photographers | Adventures of Keeko

“This is a continuation of a previous blog I made which can be accessed here: http://tinyurl.com/7k5999n“

So to shoot the breeze again, I need an antifreeze to kick-off episode II of my blog. Here is another music to keep the vibes working because my back is still sore after I slipped.

here’s a song by 30 seconds to mars entitled: Closer to the edge

I can relate to this song because it talks about being close to what you’ve been dreaming of. It speaks about life and more importantly it reminds us that we are people, we were never made perfect and we make mistakes.

As you all know, I have shared my life with so many people although things change, people grow up and move on. Sometimes, the experiences and the memories are the only things I have left. That’s life.

When you fall, you have nothing to do but stand up. When you do, you carry on with no regrets. Right or wrong, the choices I make and the experiences I had are the things that mold me into who I am.

I push myself off the limits. I am unique, the one and only Franz Lopez you will ever know.

Photographing Celebrities and News Makers

I went solo with my dad. After covering some momentous events in 2007, we then began to cover celebrities, some of which are top celebrity icons and famous news makers.

Above is an online collection of some of my old photographs which can all be accessed at www.evilseeks.multiply.com

Some of of these celebrities and news makers I was able to photograph were :

President Benigno Aquino III, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Senator Manuel Roxas III, Senator Gregorio Honasan, Senator Franklin Drilon, Senator Francis Escudero, Jun Lozada, Rhian Ramos, Angel Locsin, Ruffa Gutierrez, Richard Gutierrez, Bianca King, Anne Curtis, Kim Chiu, Ding Dong Dantes, Marian Rivera, Vic Sotto, Tito Sotto, Joey De Leon, Susan Roces, Manny Paquiao, Claudine Barreto, Gina Alajar and many more…

After following my father’s footsteps, I began to meet other photographers, models, artists, friends and affiliates online. I had a vision of creating a new realm of photography experience, a network of photographers all over the Philippines.

Photographers for Change (P4C)

The project was later to be known as “Photographers for Change.” The project started back in 2007 when I saw a thought of using photography as a medium to communicate and share reality. This was the very first project that I spearheaded.

This was the actual video I made and posted in Multiply.

I called out on Multiply for photographers who would like to share their captivating images all over the Philippines. A lot of people responded and showed how the Philippines was viewed through photographs. The reality was that, then and now, photos can shape up, change and mold a whole nation.

Photographers from Manila, Bicol, Ilocos and Cebu and in places as far as Basilan, Jolo Sulu and Maguindanao shared their remarkable images. Personally, I believed that they where sharing their photos because they wanted change. They wanted their images to be heard and seen.

Paintball Model Search 2008

Also in 2008, I was tasked to do a project for paintball called Paintball Model Search. The search was organized by the United Paintballers of the Philippines, a club that my brother founded. This paved the way for me to organize my very first meet-up.

Photo-shoots were not as popular back then as they are now. I’m was only able to meet photographers who were active in Multiply like I was.

Daphne Oliveros

Around this time, I met events photographer Daphne Oliveros. Daphne is one of my idols in photography as she is extremely talented and a creative artist. It was from her where I learned to inject creativity and art into photography. I have to thank her for sharing her passion with me as she was integral in the development of my passion.

Daphne introduced me into a more social and uplifting side of photography that I wasn’t used to. She linked me with other photographers who were as passionate about photography as we were.

She still does photography today but she is dabbling into cinematography as well. And I confess, I’m still an avid fanatic. The last time I met her was when she invited me and my friend Justin for boxing in Quezon City. Luckily, she was also doing an article for Rappler when we met, so she tagged us along on the feature. (She used us as her boxing models lol.)

I can’t wait to work with her on another project soon!

You can checkout her site at http://www.daphneoliveros.com

Lalaine Odal

From Daphne, I met her close friend Lalie who does modeling as a hobby. Lalie or “lotty lei” on Facebook is a gorgeous model. Though what separates her from the rest is that she is easy to get to know and fun to be with. She has a down to earth personality. Oh and Lalie does photography too! I guess, like me, she also inherited the passion from her father who is a photographer.

Lalie is still into modeling today. The last time I was with her was when we did a shoot together with my friends Bobbit Lim and Kevin Medina 2 years ago.

After talking with Daphne and Lalie, I asked my other multiply friends if they were interested to join the shoot. Thankfully, a lot of people responded.

Because of this project, I was able to meet these wonderful people :

Shiela Bertulfo

I met Shiela a couple of years back when I was still in high school. She’s a singer and already had an album out back then. Of course, you just had to hear her sing to know why.

She now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. And still, Filipinos there love to hear her sing.

Ara Gloriani

One of the people who volunteered was Ara, we call her “Anjanette Abayari” because of her resemblance with the popular celebrity of the 90’s. She’s kind hearted and easy to get to know too.

Ara still does modeling today.

Maru Ventura

Maru is a creative and talented artist but she also does modeling. Those who get to have her as a model will be lucky because she excels at posing, no shot is wasted if it’s her posing.

She now does professional makeup and she’s extremely good at what she is doing.

You can check her site here:

http://www.venturamaru.multiply.com

Daphne, Lalie and Shie and I met with the makeup artist Angel Reyes at Starbucks Glorietta 4. It was memorable because this was the very first meeting I did for photography with people I barely even know.

We met Maru and a friend of hers at the venue of the shoot. Upon arriving, I received a text message from MJ Cachero another photographer/model. I was not sure he would come, but he was finally able to join us at the last minute.

I remember seeing a sign of relief on Daphne’s eyes when we both heard that he was bringing his studio lights. We thought the venue would be dark. That worried us as the scarcity of light would not have produced good pictures. MJ’s studio lights came as a blessing for us.

MJ Cachero

MJ is a talented photographer when it comes to fashion mainly because he is into modeling too. I’m very thankful he came because aside from the well-lit outputs his lights gave, he gave me pointers when shooting fashion.

MJ is in Switzerland right now, I wish him all the best in his endeavors.

These people played a very important role in the growth of my career in the coming years. But our first shoot together was the most memorable. I thank them wholeheartedly because if it was not for them, I wouldn’t be the person I am now.

My photography has been a long 13-year journey; my gear, already five years old and filled with wear and tear. Yet the journey still continues. More of learnings and experiences will come my way as I realize the dreams I was just dreaming 13 years ago.